Red Sox Urged To 'Look Into' Signing Current NL Superstar Having Huge Postseason

Will the slugger price himself out of Boston?

Oct 14, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) slides home to score against Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) in the ninth inning during game two of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

We know the Boston Red Sox are looking for a right-handed slugger this winter, but does that search come with any boundaries?

For example, the Red Sox currently have Rafael Devers at third base and Triston Casas at first base, a pair of lefty sluggers under long-term team control. Would they consider signing a righty whose primary position is either of the corner infield slots?

Some roster maneuvering would be required (likely trading designated hitter Masataka Yoshida), but there’s a world where attaining the best righty power bat means bringing in someone to share first or third with the Red Sox’s incumbent. If so, perhaps they’ve gotten a glimpse of their top target in the playoffs.

Pete Alonso of the New York Mets has had a fantastic postseason, mashing three clutch home runs to help keep the Mets’ underdog story alive into the National League Championship Series. And on Monday, Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston named Alonso as a fit for the Red Sox in free agency.

“Alonso joined (Marcell) Ozuna on the shortlist of players to appear in all 162 games this season. His clutch postseason moments may have convinced the Mets to pay him this offseason,” Leger said.

“But if New York moves on from its All-Star slugger, Boston should at least look into the possibility of signing him as a DH with a swing tailor-made for Fenway Park. Alonso has hit at least 34 homers in every season except the abbreviated 2020 campaign.”

Alonso, 29, would assuredly provide one thing for the Red Sox: power. He’s clubbed 226 home runs since the beginning of 2019 (his rookie season), which trails only Aaron Judge for the most in all of baseball during that time frame.

The bigger issue will be whether Alonso is attainable at all. The Mets may be dead-set on signing him after his clutch postseason performance, and there’s never a doubt about New York’s willingness to spend money. That may depend as well on whether the Mets’ pursuit of Juan Soto proves successful.

If Alonso were to join the Red Sox, Boston’s lineup would certainly strike fear into the hearts of the rest of the American League. Only time will tell whether that objective has any grounding in reality.